Lessons in giving a rented property a real family identity with Amie Wine founder Abbie Roden Sandbach

When she discovered she was pregnant with her first child, Teddy, Amie Wine founder Abbie Roden Sandbach knew she and her husband, Will, were going to need more space than their 400 sq ft Holland Park flat allowed. The couple started searching towards Notting Hill, but soon realised they could get a lot more bang for their buck in Brook Green, where they stumbled across the three-bedroom house they now live in.“It was the first house we looked at in the neighbourhood and a friend happens to live on the same street,” she says. “We walked in and just thought, this is perfect.”That third bedroom is about to pull its weight even harder with the couple’s second baby due in just a couple of weeks. It may one day become a fully-fledged nursery but for now they plan to keep the guest bed in situ too. “When you have family who do not live in London, it is nice to have somewhere for people to stay,” says Roden Sandbach, who originally hails from Kentucky.As a rental property, the house itself came with little scope for renovation, but it is a lesson in how to make your own (temporary) mark with clever decorating. The house is characterful, filled with vintage finds, family heirlooms and art collected around the world; a fitting backdrop for a couple whose work is equally dynamic. Alongside Eccleston Yards’s buzzy Amie Wine Studio and neighbouring pizza restaurant Weezie’s, which Roden Sandbach founded with her husband, she also runs marketing and talent agency, Roden. There is a sense of happy serendipity to the style, with pieces gathered simply because the couple are drawn to them The walls are predominantly white, aside from a cocooning chocolate brown and earth-toned living room, creating a blank canvas for the couple’s eclectic collection of furniture and art, much of which is vintage or passed down through generations. Roden Sandbach is a regular hunter on eBay, Facebook Marketplace and at Kempton, while Chiswick High Road Antique Market has proved a particularly fruitful source. There is a sense of happy serendipity to the style, with pieces gathered simply because the couple are drawn to them rather than because they fit a particular scheme. That, perhaps, is the secret. Rather than trying to create a particular look, Roden Sandbach has allowed the house to evolve around the objects she appreciates.“I love it when things have a story behind them,” she explains. “A friend of mine taught me to write a little note about where each piece of art or object comes from and tape it to the back, so you will spot them on many of the items in my home. Otherwise, when you pass stuff down to people, how will they ever know the story behind it?”Neil PerryA small bowl bought in a market in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for example, is labelled August 2019. Another notes a trip to Dartmoor with her mother. It is a simple but brilliant idea that I am definitely going to adopt.There is even a slice of Roden Sandbach’s native Kentucky in the guest bedroom where an old barn door from her grandparents’ farm has been transformed into a headboard. “That is probably one of my favourite things,” she says.When it arrived in London, it was literally in piecesThere is also a dresser from her grandmother, which displays some of her discoveries, and a vanity that is filled with memories. It belonged to her mother as a child, then to Roden Sandbach herself, and had been painted countless colours over the years. When it arrived in London, it was literally in pieces, but rather than throw it away, she tracked down a furniture restorer to bring it back to life: “I was determined to save it.”There is a strong sense of family woven throughout the house. Teddy’s bedroom, for instance, has a round chair from Kentucky that Roden Sandbach’s mother found for $10 when working as a real estate agent. She had it reupholstered and says it is one of those pieces that has followed her through different stages of life.Her passion for travel feeds into the interiors. The family regularly visits Morocco, where they have built a relationship with the driver who takes them around. A rug in the master bedroom was a gift from his family. Most of the artwork has been picked up around the world, including pieces from Kenya and Italy.An Arabian painting in the living room catches my eye. It has an especially fun backstory. Roden Sandbach spotted it while working on a fashion shoot in a 1960s-style London apartment. It belonged to the grandfather of the woman she was working with who, as luck would have it, needed to clear the flat on behalf of her grandfather by the next day. “She said she would love for me to take it, so I immediately called Will and asked him to drive over to collect it.”Neil Perry / The London StandardShe has a few treasured contemporary artists too, including Tony Green and Zahra Holm. A large Kara Marshall cowboy painting hangs above the fireplace, giving the room its focal point.The Shaker-style kitchen and adjoining dining area let in a beautiful, changing natural light. The space leads out to a small garden which has proven a useful little lounging spot. Initially, Roden Sandbach was not convinced by the artificial grass installed by the previous owners, but with a toddler — and another baby on the way — she has come to appreciate it. “It is actually so good,” she admits. “With a tiny baby you can just put a blanket down, and they can lie there. Teddy can also run around.”The sense of community beyond the front door is another reason the family has fallen for Brook Green. There are regular impromptu meet-ups and plenty of other children for Teddy to play with, not to mention the brilliant farmers’ market which pops up every Saturday.Although Roden Sandbach can imagine eventually moving to the country and having more space, she is not in a hurry. “With kids, when they are really young, I think London is a great place,” she says. “You can just stroll around the neighbourhood. You do not have to get in a car to go somewhere.”As the family of three prepares to become four, their home will no doubt evolve again, gathering more stories along the way.